Fire and burglar alarm.



PATENTBD FEB. 3, 1903.

I. S. BUNKER.

FIRE AND BURGLAR ALARM.

APIiL IOATION FILED MAY 5, 1902.

1&0 MODEL.

m: uoams' ecrcns ca. Manama, wnsmunmu, n. c.

UNinD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IRA S. BUNKER, OF FREEWATER, OREGON.

FIRE AND BURGLAR ALARM.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 719,563, dated February3, 1903.

Application filed May 5,1902. Serial No. 105.954. (No model.)

To It whom it may concern.-

, Be it known that I, IRA S. BUNKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Freewater, in the county of Umatilla and State of Oregon,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire and Burglar Alarms,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in fire and burglar alarms, theobject of which is to provide a cheap, simple, and reliable device forgiving an alarm in case of fire or burglary in any part of a house orother place desired to be protected. These objects I attain by means ofa device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which- Figure l is a plan view of the box withthe cover raised to show the interior of the same. Fig. 2 is a viewshowing a building with the roof and one wall partly cut away andshowing the alarm and manner of putting it up and connecting the cordsaround rooms and fines.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

13 is a box of any desired size and shape, having in its lower end aclock mechanism G, which has a cogged drive-wheel D, a winding-shaft J,escape-wheel F, and pawl P, also a propelling-spring. (Not shown.) PawlP has a hammer-wire H, having its upper end bent upward, so that thehammer it will reach through the slot S in the box-cover when it isclosed and be in position to strike a bell which is placed on theoutside the box'cover immediately over the slot, as shown in Fig. 2. Atthe end of hammer-wire H where it turns upward there is a tipping shelfK, which is held in the box by means of pivots v 'u. The shelf K alsohas attached a small weight W to balance and tip it forward, so that theshort wire or detent T will engage the hammer-wire H and hold the clockmechanism from running. (The tippingshelf K is preferably made of tin,with the pivots, Weight, and detent soldered to it.)

The box B is preferably made of wood and should be about five-by teninches in the clear inside and one and three-fourth inches deep, withthe back side extending about four inches above the sides and front. Theclock mechanism is fastened to the back piece of the box. The upper endpiece of the box is only one and one-fourth inches wide and is placedflush with the front edge of side pieces, leaving a slot of one-halfinch to admit the weigh ts W W V W. There are also partitionpieces 3 3 3fastened to the back of the box to keep the weights apart. Thepartitions between weights are one-half inch high and apiece of thinwood or tin (not shown) can be placed over them, so that weights arekept in proper position. There is also a turningboard E, correspondingin shape to the upper end of the back piece of the box, on which isplaced small porcelain or other ornamental knobs N N N N. Thisturning-board is placed on the wall of a room directly above the alarmand on a line a little above the top of windowcasings. The cords A A A Aare placed upon the knobs in turning to right or left around the rooms,excepting the cord A which extends to an attic above, as shown in Fig.2. This cord extends through rings r r, which are placed upon and heldin position by separate cords X X, which encircle the flue where itintersects the ceiling and roof. The cords are held in position by smallscrew-eyes, the ring part preferably coated with glass to lesson thefriction on the cords. Where an angle is turned in a corner of a room,the adjoining room can be fitted by a separate cord, (shown at Y, Fig.2,) where the cord A has a ring attached to its end and by its tensionholds the ring in position against the wall of the first room'; but ifthe cord A is burned off or released by burglars the ring is releasedand goes along with the first cord A, as shown by dotted lines.

The device operates as follows: The alarmbox is placed on the wall of abed-room. The tipping shelf K is tipped forward by means of a weight Wits back edge resting up against the partition-pieces 3 3 3. The detentT engages the ham mer-wire H and holds it and the clock mechanism fromrunning; but should fire burn off a cord or should one be released byburglars the weight W being allowed to drop moves the back edge of thetipping shelf K downward and the front edge upward,there by removing thedetent T from holding the hammer-wire h, which sets the bell to ringing.

The advantages 1 claim of this device over others are: It is more simplein construction,

more accurate in its operation, as the tipping shelf can be so neatlybalanced that the weight of one-fourth of an ounce will set the alarm06. The detent engages the ham mer-Wire at its end, where the resistanceis but little, so a small weight of three or four ounces can be used. Asmall cord, that is almost invisible on the walls of a room, can beused. The weight being light, the elasticity of the cord will hold it upand the alarm will stay in order. For business houses in cities a largehell, that can be heard several blocks, can be placed outside of thebuilding in front, so if fire occurs or burglars enter the police orothers can go directly to the disturbance.

Having thus described my invention, What said cords.

IRA S. BUNKER. Witnesses:

P. S. RAGSDILL, A. S. PEARSON.

